How Are Stilts Made?

Video Transcript

"KEVIN BARRET: Okay. Now I'm going to show you the various parts of the stilt. It's very important to know what the features are of the stilt before you actually get up on them. So, first off is how you to attach it to your foot. It's these straps right here, okay? You have three different straps there, not unlike a rollerblade strap. So, if you've ever been rollerblading, this will be a cinch for you, okay? You got these two straps right here that's going to go on the front of your foot and the back of your foot, then you have a strap on the back here that's going to go around the back of your knee. That's going to secure you so that you aren't going to fall off or fall out of these stilts, okay? The next part is the calf support. This is the pink support right here. It's just a little pad; it makes it comfortable for you to jump. Some people actually wrap a towel around this part, duct-tape it around for a little bit extra support if you're a little bit smaller. It's kind of a generic fit for everybody. Okay, the next point is the calf support right here. It's this pink rubber support that's just behind your calf; that's why they call it the calf support. Some people actually wrap a towel around this and duct-tape it, just--if they're a little bit smaller, it'll make it a little bit cozier fit for you. So, that's the calf support and that's going to help you out for a little bit more stability. All right, the next part of the stilt that you're going to want to know is the control lever. This is one of the most important features of the stilt. The control lever is this rubber part that goes around the front of your knee, all right? It's going to go just below your knee and this is going to give you all the support that you're going to need to actually walk around on the stilt, okay? So, this control lever right here goes around the bottom of the knee and then it straps in the back, okay, to make sure you're not going to fall out of the stilt. The next part is this fiberglass spring, right here this yellow bow is the fiberglass spring. Now, this spring is specific to your weight, okay? So, if you're thinking about buying jumping stilts, you're going to have to get this to your weight. For example, I am 175 pounds. When I bought this stilt, I made sure it was between 170 and 200 pounds, okay? And they make these specific for your weight range, okay? So, that's fiberglass spring. The next thing is the peg at the bottom right here, it's this black part. This is the thing that's going to be in contact with the ground while you're walking around on these stilts, all right? Okay, the next part of the stilt is the peg. This is a very important part because this part of the stilt is always in contact with the ground, all right? It's the black part at the very bottom of the stilt. It's good to make sure that these are always in good condition. You can buy them online separately. Make sure they are never worn out, make sure that the bolts that connect to this peg are always tight; otherwise, you're going to have a problem once you get up and jumping around, running, et cetera. A lot of people also take, like a bicycle tire and they fold it, and they put the bicycle tire over this, and wrap it with a bunch of rubber bands just so it doesn't wear out their pegs sometimes if they're going off-roading in hard gravel, stuff like that. So, make sure that your peg is always secure. All right, that's the basic parts of the stilt. Now you're ready to move on to the next step."